Support Your Postpartum Abs with Belly Binding
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Did your body swell and expand during pregnancy? I would be surprised if it didn’t. All mothers experience some form of swelling from retained water, fat and air. This extra cushioning is important to support the baby, mama’s organs and bones. After birth, when this extra cushioning is no longer needed, her body will naturally start to shrink back down to her pre-pregnant size. Belly binding may speed up this process and provide support to women during their recovery period.
What is Bengkung Belly Binding?
A belly bind gives full support to a mother’s abdomen, torso and pelvic area. This helps to improve posture, stabilize loosened ligaments and support the abdominal wall while muscles retract and organs move back into their correct place.
The pelvic floor is a huge support system for your bladder, colon and lower intestines, and support is crucial as the cervix needs to shrink and muscles need to heal without stretching further. Have you ever wondered why so many women experience incontinence after giving birth? Why a cough, laugh or sneeze makes you stop and wonder what just happened!? The pelvic floor can remain unstable for several months after giving birth – any extra support in this region is readily welcome by most women.
Hips need to close and the constant pressure from the bind can help support this. Binding can aid in the healing of ailments like diastasis recti (the separation of your outer most abdominal muscles), and in more extreme cases can be used in tandem with certain strengthening exercises recommended by a Physical Therapist.
Spine and posture realignment are commonly needed as pregnancy has a tendency to throw things out of whack. As babies grow in utero, it shifts moms balance by tipping the pelvis forward and the tailbone backwards, and ultimately both the lower and upper spines compensate for these changes and mom is left with the classic “S” shaped spine, which causes aches, pains, and weaknesses. The added support of a bind is often a gentle reminder for mothers to be cautious of their posture, as some women tend to hunch over when picking up babies or even while breastfeeding.
When To Wrap Up
Belly binding can also be used by those who have had cesarean births. Binding can start between 4-6 weeks postpartum for a mother who is recovering from a c-section and for those who’ve had a vaginal birth, start a few days postpartum. It can be worn for a few days or up to 6 weeks.
When looking for belly binding information to share with you, I came across this post from a chiropractor at Core Exercise Solutions about diastasis recti (abdominal separation). The author reviews both the pros and cons of belts like the Belly Bandit type, which is a commonly used product available in many different sizes/styles. I think the points made in the post also apply to the Bengkung Binding method.
Finally, I found this virtual service for learning how to wrap safely. The site includes a shop for the needed supplies, which makes me want to try it out! (Non-affiliate link.)
